WEEPY LOU FOXTROTS OFF

EASTENDERS babe Louisa Lytton fled the Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals in tears AGAIN yesterday.
The teen beauty cracked under pressure in the crucial final dress rehearsal for last night's live show.
She told shocked partner Vincent Simone: "I can't do this. I'm no good at it and I'm going to make a fool of myself. It's too much to remember."
Louisa, 17, broke down in tears while struggling to master the foxtrot - just as she did two weeks ago after fluffing rehearsals for the quickstep.
An insider revealed: "She prefers the Latin styles and scored full marks last week. But it made her even more worried that she'll let Vincent down with her ballroom routine.
"Louisa's the youngest contestant by far and can't cope with the pressure. She is hard on herself and doesn't think she's as good as her main rivals like Emma Bunton, who has much more dancing experience."
Sexiest
But Louisa - voted Sexiest Female as gangster Johnny Allen's daughter Ruby at this year's Soap Awards - is joint favourite with ex- Spice Girl Emma to scoop the Strictly Come Dancing crown. A triumph would ease the disappointment of being axed from EastEnders - her last appearance in the soap will be next month.
Our source added: "Everybody's expecting big things from her and it's a huge burden.
"During dress rehearsals her friends and family aren't even able to support her as the producers need contestants to be focused in the final hours before the show.
"Vincent has been supportive though and it's thanks to him that she hasn't just given it all up.
"Her confidence needs building and she'll soon be in full swing."

Stag & Hen Celebration for Dominic & Laura this Thursday at Dartford

Dominic & Laura are getting married in a few weeks time and to celebrate their marriage, we're doing a special "Stags & Hens" night THIS THURSDAY 2nd November at Dartford.

They met at Dance Riviera 2 and a half years ago and have been loved up since! Even if you don't know them, it'll be a cracking party atmosphere with cake and nibbles.

Ladies if you can wear something pink and guys something black it'll make Dom & Laura's night.

Look forward to seeing you all there.

I'm starting to like him...

As you know I'm not a huge fan of Brendan, but Saturday saw him launch into the Judges for not scoring the contestants consistently. Arlene took the brunt of the abuse and she reacted by marking Brendan's & Claire's score down considerably.

Here's the scores

Votes: Craig: 7, Arlene: 4, Len: 6, Bruno: 7 = 24

As you can plainly see Arlene is voting with her heart and not her eyes!

Unfortunately, we see this in our small world of dancing when there are competitions, which is the big reason why I prefer not to compete. Seeing it on TV. and this blatant is just very wrong.
I'm hoping that words will be said to the judges to get their act together and not make this personal.

Time will tell.

I'd love to know what Brendan had to say about this. Anyone know where he comments if at all?
Here's a list of all the scores and their difference in scoring:

Votes: Craig: 8, Arlene: 7, Len: 7, Bruno: 8 Difference = 2
Votes: Craig: 7, Arlene: 7, Len: 7, Bruno: 7 Difference = 0
Votes: Craig: 5, Arlene: 5, Len: 7, Bruno: 7 Difference = 2
Votes: Craig: 8, Arlene: 9, Len: 9, Bruno: 9 Difference = 1
Votes: Craig: 6, Arlene: 7, Len: 8, Bruno: 8 Difference = 2
Votes: Craig: 5, Arlene: 6, Len: 8, Bruno: 7 Difference = 3
Votes: Craig: 2, Arlene: 5, Len: 6, Bruno: 6 Difference = 4
Votes: Craig: 7, Arlene: 5, Len: 6, Bruno: 8 Difference = 3
Votes: Craig: 7, Arlene: 8, Len: 7, Bruno: 8 Difference = 1
Votes: Craig: 7, Arlene: 4, Len: 6, Bruno: 7 Difference = 3

Jim x

Strictly Results

Which couple left the ballroom for good?
With feelings running high amongst the contestants, the stage was set for a tense and dramatic results show. Brendan's earlier outburst hadn't won him any friends on the panel, with both Arlene and Len naming him as the one who should be leaving.
In no particular order, the couples safe this week were announced: Ray and Camilla, Emma and Darren, Mark and Karen, Louisa and Vincent, Carol and Matthew, Matt and Lilia, Peter and Erin (to Peter's massive relief), and Claire and Brendan.
So who'd be dancing another week? The public had had their say, and it was Georgina and James who were waving goodbye to Strictly. Georgina didn't let the disappointment get to her. "I've had the best time of my life... and I think I'll carry on dancing," she said. And James had warm words for his partner, saying that "Even the judges would agree she transformed herself from a non-dancer to a dancer."
On next week's show we'll see the nine remaining couples performing a stately Viennese Waltz, or a sizzling Salsa. Don't miss it!

Halloween Pictures are up!

What a fantastic night, thank you to everyone that came and especially those that dressed up. The effort is much appreciated and really adds to the atmosphere of the night. Alan French had a wonderful birthday, especially having been sung Happy Birthday to a la Marilyn Monroe style and had a wonderful birthday cake and errrm, special birthday blow up present :-)

DJ Steve Strong played a great music set keeping the floor full all night with some special "spooky" tracks.

Don't forget next week is "Stags & Hens" special for Dominic & Laura who are getting married next month.

If you have any photos from the ball, please send them to info@danceriviera.com so I can put them on the website. Cheers.

Click here for the Halloween Photos

Something for the Ladies

There you go Ladies a very sexy man!

Halloween Ball this Thursday

More info here

As most of you know about 90% of people dress up for our events, so don't be scared to give it a go if you haven't done it before.

Go here for the gallery from the last ball

Halloween Party This Thursday - Something for the Boyz

This is the regulation costume for women, but I think the skirt is too long!

Jim x

Pole dance set to be taken off Tesco site

Supermarket giant Tesco agreed to remove a home pole-dancing set from its website yesterday.
The Peekaboo Pole Dancing kit includes an extendable pole, frilly garter, and DVD to demonstrate sexy dance moves.It also features fake money – dubbed Peekaboo Dance Dollars – to reward budding private dancers.The £49.97 kit was advertised on the Tesco Direct website in the toys and games section, in the sub-category arcade and gadgets.It was also listed in the sports and leisure section, in the sub-category fitness accessories.Tesco agreed to remove the product from the toy section of the site, but said it would remain on sale as a fitness accessory, although the product description invites users to "unleash the sex kitten inside".

Spoil sports!

Jx

Press views: Dirty Dancing

A stage version of the classic 1987 film Dirty Dancing has opened at the Aldwych Theatre in London.

Read some reviews here

Post your views in the comments...

Jxx

Let's Do The Chicken Noodle Soup Dance!

Seems like every generation has its own dance craze. Some have more than one.The Bump, The Bunny Hop, The Chicken Dance, Electric Slide, The Hustle, Macarena, The Mashed Potato, The Monkey, The Swim, The Twist, The Watusi, YMCA -- chances are pretty darn good you've done at least one of them.

More here

BAWL ROOM DANCING!

Strictly Come Dancing judges are so out of step

STRICTLY Come Dancing judges Arlene Phillips and Len Goodman seem desperate to tread on each other's toes in an amazing ballroom fall-out.
The pair - already well out of step behind the scenes - could hardly disguise the friction between them on screen last night.
Now producers of the hit BBC1 show hope it won't lead to one of them waltzing off in a huff.
Arlene, 62, criticised Casualty star Georgina Bouzova and dance partner James Jordan for their style.
But Len, 61, pulled a face and said: "Don't listen to what that nasty judge says - I thought you deserved better."
An insider told The People: "There's no love lost between them. Arlene thinks Len's opinions are outdated and that he's too old-school for the show. They have both been around for years and are about the same age but Arlene thinks she has moved with the times while Len is stuck in the past."
The simmering feud first came out in the open last week. Arlene gave her verdict on the performance of Bad Girls star Claire King when Len said scathingly: "That was like the sermon on the Mount."
As the camera panned away many viewers may have missed Arlene snapping back: "What did you say that for?"
The source said: "Both are determined to make a mark with their witty opinions. Arlene was furious when Len tried to spoil her views on Claire with his put-down. Backstage Arlene and Len have been bickering but it was the first time their rivalry spilled over during a broadcast. Now things have hit crisis point."
Claire was partnered by Love Island contestant Brendan Cole in the routine that triggered the judges' clash.
The source added: "A bit of tension is great for viewing figures. But the last thing bosses need is one of the judges storming out."

Cool!

Jim x

WTF

Seriously why the hell did Spoony get knocked out of SCD this weekend?

It was the turn of Spoony and Ola turn to leave the show.
The time had come for Tess to name the couple leaving the competition this week, but first Bruce and Tess announced the couples who had definitely won through, leaving Spoony and Ola and Georgina and James left standing - the couples with the lowest overall scores.
But finally Tess announced that Spoony and Ola would be leaving the dance floor.

Seems like there's some strange voting going on...

Jxx

Minted

After a brief 3 hours sleep I managed to get the pictures up on the website.

Go here

Jim x

Jim & Nicky on TV next week!!

Stop the press!! Jim & Nicky plus a few other modern jivers will be dancing on ITV1's programme The Mint on Wednesday 18th October at Midnight til 1.15am on Thursday, so it's a late one (hey that's what Sky Plus or video recorders were invented for :-)

We have no idea what the format is going to be or whether we'll look really cool or......not so cool! but either way it's a great way of getting the Dance Riviera name out there if we can.

Please watch and tell your friends too!

Game Tip

A few people have mentioned they could do with some help on this game, so here's an example of how I did one of the levels...

I worked out my route then as the dance squares appeared I placed them where they needed to go - not in order. Any dance squares I didn't need I placed at the bottom on squares that were not needed - not shown in this example.

Good Luck,

Jim x

Kerry & Nigel enter Britroc Competition on Saturday

Our very own Gravesend Dance Coaches Nigel & Kerry will be entering this Saturday's Britroc competition down in Brighton. They'll be entering the Open and Advanced sections, so wish them luck! Fly the Dance Riviera flag guys and make us proud.

Jim, Nicky & Tracy and the crew x

Last week for Advanced Smooth Jive Classes til the New Year

This Thursday 12th October is the last date for this time's Advanced Smooth Jive classes. They have been extremely popular from the start and we're gearing up ready for next year's workshops. If you'd like to come to our last session, please ring Nicky on 020 8692 3821 to put your name down - first come, first served.

Also, Jim & Nicky will be teaching at Dartford every week til at least the New Year, so we hope to see some of you there for some great dances :-)

J&N

Dilema

Introducing: Claire King and Brendan Cole

She's Gorgeous!

He's an arrogant *!!!*@#!

Do I cheer them on or boo them....

Hmmm

Jim x

Win Tickets to SCD

They are running a competition for tickets...

Post the answers here for each question, so we can all enter.

Go here

Monday's Question: Nicholas Owen suffered from a lack of what in training for Strictly?

Tuesday's Question: Name the dancer that judge Craig Revell Horwood says has a 5/10 chance of winning the series?

Strictly Come Dancing Game!

I found this great dancing game today and I managed (with luck) to complete it.

Can you do the same?

Go here

Jim x

I've added a couple of tips in the comments of this post for those that are struggling.

Charity Dance Experience at Gravsend on Saturday 7th October

We're having a Charity (Breast Cancer Research) Dance Experience this Saturday at St George's Shopping Centre, Bath Road, Gravesend outside Marks & Spencers (covered area) between 12noon - 2pm.

We need dancers to help promote Dance Riviera by obviously dancing :-), handing out flyers and collecting money for charity.

It's great fun, you get to show off your dancing skills, socialise and meet other dancers and give something back to the hobby that you love.

We'll give you a FREE entry ticket as a thank you for helping to support this event.

We hope to see you there and wear black & white!

Click here for flyer

We're in the paper!

Click on the article to read it full size!

Fantastic article (organised by our Broadstairs Dance Coach Joe) by author Jane Wenham-Jones who tried us out the other week.

If you've got any friends who are thinking of coming, send them to this article!

Blues Workshop

I'd just like to comment on how impressed I was by the level of dancing this Sunday with the Blues Workshop that Nicky and I taught.

You were all very good and really got into the mood and style of the dance.

Tip: As we mentioned you don't need to dance Blues style to only slow music as it fits in very well with normal pace music too.

Well done all,

Jim x

Gozo News

Hiya all, how are you all doing? We have just had a huge family reunion over here - my twin sister Claire and her little boy called Tai flew over from South Africa to spend a week with us and the rest of our family from the UK also arrived for the week too - it was chaotic at times but so lovely to see everyone again - it has been 9 months since we last got everyone together so there was lots of catching up to do.

Autumn has not arrived here just yet - we are still having lots of warm sunny days - the kids are back at school now and have settled in really well with all their new friends - my dad's boat is finally ready to sail (we even had a bottle of Moet and donuts on board last week to celebrate!).

I am starting my countdown til Warmwell now - only 4 weeks to go - cant believe how quickly this year is going - I fly home on the 2nd November so will hopefully get to Dartford that night for Laura and Dominic's special hen/stag night and hope to see you all there.

Well thats all for now folks, have a lovely week and keep in touch - lots of love Shelagh xxx